Que Sera Sera
by StEfron56
Summary: Troy & Gabriella were the best of friends ... were. Now they're not, to say the least, until Gabriella's father dies. Everyone in her life seems to be leaving one by one, will Troy? STORY IS IN ENGLISH!
1. AN

_OK, this is my first proper planned fic, so don't be too harsh! I'll put a translation of the titles at the start of each chapter as I post them. I'm in the middle of exams at the moment, so apologies if there are any delays in updating!_

**1: Odio  
2¿Porque?  
3: Causa Perdida  
4: Pensaba que ...  
5: Las letras de mí corazón  
6: Cuando éramos más joven  
7¿Por qué lloras?  
8: Creo que me gustas ...  
9: Pasamos la noche ...  
10: No entiendes  
11: Lo siento  
12: No hablas a yo  
13¿No sabes?  
14: Despiadado  
15: Angustia  
16: Vivo  
17: El mismo  
18: Un chico que encantarse  
19: Una chica que no quierer encantarse  
20: Conflictivo  
21: Acostarse con mi  
22: El noche que era  
23: Alcohol y la verdad  
24: El pasado  
25: Muy interesante  
26: No me encantas ... No puedes ...  
27: Voy a hacerlo  
28: Si  
29: No  
30: Está trastornada  
31: Él te encanta  
32: Tú le encantas  
33: Acostarse con mi (otra vez)  
34: Tragedia  
35. Que sera sera ...**


	2. Odio

Chapter 1 - Odio (I Hate You)

_"Gabriella!" She turned to see Troy smiling and hurrying to catch up with her in the hallway. She saw Tammy shoot him a "wtf?!" look and smiled back smugly. "Hey gorgeous, how're you?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his naturally._

_"Hmm..." She sighed. "I'll just be glad when this term's over! Ms Darbus already has me signed up for a million extra currics, and-" She was cut off by his mouth attaching to hers and she smiled into his kiss._

_"You'll do great in the end, you always do." He pulled away and took her hand. "Remember in pre-school, even then you just had to get that play-dough model perfect before you'd do anything else!" She giggled and held in a content sigh from the feeling of reassurance and faith he had in her._

_The bell rang and he kissed her again, with so much feeling in it she felt dizzy. "I love you, babe, meet you in the car park at 3.15?"_

_"I love you too." She gave him one last peck and smiled. "See you then." She turned on her heel and opened the door, biting her lip and still grinning._

_"Miss Montez, need I remind you that-"_

"GABRIELLA?!" She heard her mother yelling. "GABRIELLA, IT'S 8AM!" She groaned and slowly slid out of bed, wiping the sleep from her eyes and streching her arms. She stopped mid-stretch and gasped. _"I love you, babe..." _Oh my God, she thought, what the hell is going on?

"Gabs!" She looked over and saw Kelsi and Taylor waving at her. Kelsi patted on a seat next to her and she took it with a silent nod and smile. "OK, I know that look." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"What happened?" She sighed, not even bothering to sound like she was remotely interested in the never-ending Troyella love-to-hate-relationship.

"Nothing, you guys, I guess I'm just really tired. I've had loads of homework and I didn't get much sleep last night." She lied, smiling apologetically. Kelsi put a hand on her arm and looked at her sympathetically.

"Well, boy wonder, 9 O'Clock, just incase you're not in the mood for any banter." Gabriella slowly turned her head to see Troy and his latest bitch strutting past their table.

"Eurgh." She whined and put her head on Kelsi's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm free next period, fancy a shower?" She heard him say to the blonde. She giggled wickedly and Gabriella heard the sound of her slapping his arm.

"Troy! What if we got caught?" She enunciated every syllable, moving closer to him with each word.

"So what? At least we're hot, I bet they'd rather catch us than Martha Cox and Andy Stone." He sniggered. The three girls all grimaced at the mental images, they had to agree, catching Troy Bolton in the shower wouldn't be the worst thing in the world ... even if Amy was there too, at least he wasn't poor Andy.

"Hey girls!" They heard Sharpay familiar trill and all looked at her, pleading with her silently. "Oh My God, get a room, Marshall, try something new for once..." She said just loud enough for Troy to hear. He turned slightly and Gabriella looked at Amy Marshall's face, pouting for all it was worth. It even looked like she'd just done her hair. He turned back to her and made sure to plant one on her while Gabriella was still analysing the girl's features. She was cliché-pretty. Blonde, blue-eyed, tall and slender. It wouldn't have mattered how terrible her skin was, or how dark her eyebrows, guys were always going to fall at her feet, all for a blonde.

"HEY!" She heard Sharpay shriek. "There is nothing wrong with being blonde!" Gabriella blushed as she realised she'd just spoken out loud. "Well, only if you use it sensibly, not like that tramp."

Troy sat down next to Sharpay and the other three shot eachother a knowing look as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "There certainly is nothing wrong with being blonde, Shar." He flashed his million-dollar smile at her and continued. "They're the best in bed." He winked at Gabriella and took a slice of cucumber from Sharpay's salad on his way out.

"He is so sleazy, he makes Colin Farrel look like the Pope." Taylor stated, taking a quarter of tomato as she said it.

"And she's no better, she was at my party last week, and hooked up with Dan. Dan!" Sharpay scowled and finally had some of her own salad. The other girls stifled a giggle, it was common knowledge Sharpay had had a crush on Dan for at least a year before she settled for Zeke. "Hey, whatever, Zeke bakes. Dan fake bakes."

They all laughed hysterically as none other than Dan walked into the cafeteria, looking as perma-glow tanned as always. Gabriella helped herself to a carrot stick and leaned back in her seat. "So, who's house are we trashing tomorrow?" She grinned cheekily, as every one of them turned to Sharpay.

"I hosted last week! My Mom will flip out if she comes home on Sunday and there's no food again!" She whinged, fluttering her eyelashes at Kelsi. "Pweeeease?"

"Nuh uh! No way!" Kelsi stood up and Sharpay grabbed her forearm and pulled her back down. "Guys, if Troy Bolton and his jocks trash my house I'm dead!"

"Puh-lease! Troy wouldn't dare!" Sharpay pulled her girl closer to her and whispered in her ear. " Zeke will bake you cookies." She smiled like a small child bribing her mother into extra playime.

"Fine!" She groaned, knowing Sunday morning was going to be the biggest clean-up the Nielsen household had ever seen.

"Gabi, sweetheart, have you done 2a?" She heard Troy whispering in her ear and rolled her eyes.

"OK, Bolton, here goes;" She began, "One. I'm not your sweetheart. Two. I always do my homework if it kills me, so don't bother asking. And three. You're not getting any of my answers." She smiled sarcastically and turned her paper over.

"You forgot Gabi." He whispered again. She felt a tug on her heartstrings and took a moment to reply. He'd always called her that. Nobody else. Taking that away left no hope for the old Troy. The young naive Troy.

"Just do your homework in future, OK?" She slid her sheet along his desk behind hers and put her head in her hands.

"Thanks, babe." She heard him mutter. She lifted her head and had a sudden urge to beat him within an inch of his life. She counted to ten and took deep breaths.

"I'm not 'babe' either, Troy. So, please, copy my answer, give me it back, and go sleep with a slut." She didn't turn her head to look at him again, but she knew she'd either hit a nerve, or he'd take it as a compliment. That was the thing with this Troy, he could twist things into his favour easily. The bell rang and she held her hand over her shoulder waiting for the paper back. She felt it in her palm and snatched it back, sliding it between two folders in her bag.

"Gladly." He said on his way past, and she looked up to see another blonde being snuggled, and sliding her hands into his back pocket. She shook her head and dawdled so she wouldn't end up leaving right behind the pair. She watched as he opened the back door to his truck and she jumped in, making no attempt to pull her skirt over herself. He looked around quickly and followed her inside. Gabriella sighed and kept walking, blocking out the mental images of what was going on. Knowing Troy, she'd already be naked.


	3. ¿Porque?

Chapter 2 - ¿Porque? (Why?)

Troy looked behind him briefly and saw Gabriella walking across the car park, he smirked to himself and clambered into the truck. He sat himself down next to her and frowned at he felt it wash over him. Guilt. No, he shouldn't feel guilty, Gabriella had her chance and she said no. These girls are handing it to him on a plate, he had every right to take that advantage.

"Y'know ..." She began, tracing circles on his chest with her long fingernails. "I'm the luckiest girl in school right now." She softly kissed his jawline, and he felt that familiar feeling of routine kick up. "Y'know what would make me even luckier? And you'd get even luckier, too." She giggled, sliding her thumbs under his waistband. "I think I should tell my friends, they all love you anyways, so why not make it public?" She chirped, Troy took hold of her hands and looked at her like she'd just grown three heads. "What?" He opened the door and leaned back.

"Get out." He muttered, rubbing his temples with his finger and thumb. She opened her mouth but no words came out. "I said, get out. Seriously, you're not lucky, I'm Troy Bolton. You're just another cheerleader in my truck." He was still muttering, half afraid she'd hit him, half trying to cease the throbbing pain in his head.

"You've a cheek, Bolton! Ohmigod, I can do so much better than you!" She slapped him across the face, and heard a satisfying CRACK on his cheek. He immediately put his hand to it and simply pointed to the door with his other one. "Whatever."

Gabriella sat in her car, quickly texting her mom. She glanced up and saw the blonde girl storming out of Troy's truck and slamming the door behind her. She looked furious. She smiled to herself, maybe someone had finally given Troy a taste of his own medicine. It made a change from him doing the running. She threw her phone into the passenger seat and started up the car. As she pulled out of the car park, she saw Troy climbing over the back seats into the driver's seat. She watched him take the same route he always did, right behind her, in the mirror all the way home.

She pulled into the driveway and automatically looked next door. She saw Troy sitting in the truck with his head in his hands. Truthfully, she felt obliged to go see what was wrong. In her heart, she knew he'd only accuse her of gloating, and she'd get nowhere. So she gave him a sympathetic smile, and he returned a middle finger. She looked past his finger however, and saw he was smiling. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Mom?" She called, resting her bag on the table. "Mom!" She looked down and saw her mother's handwriting on notepaper.

_Honey, I'm so sorry, work need me for this weekend, so I had to leave early today. Your father should be home on Monday. I'll be back early on Tuesday, I've left money in the fridge, since that's about all that's in there at the moment. I'll see you soon. Don't do anything I wouldn't! I love you, Mom xxxxxxxx_

She sighed and opened the fridge. Her mother was right, all that was in there was a sandwich box she knew contained money, and some cheese. She opened the box and pulled out the wad of notes. Sulking slightly, she picked up her bag and went back to her car. She heard Jack Bolton and his wife conversing on their lawn and smiled and waved.

"Hi sweetie, oh!" She exclaimed. "Did you get the note? Your mom said to let you know it's there, just incase you didn't see it." Gabriella smiled and nodded politely.

"Yeah. I'm just going to do some shopping. It was nice of her to leave me with food!" She giggled and unlocked the car again.

"Y'know, you're more than welcome to eat at ours tonight. In fact, don't tell your mom, save the money and eat here this weekend!" Jack said warmly, as Troy opened the front door.

"That would be lovely, thank you, Mr Bolton." She smiled at Troy, knowing she had just ruined his weekend.

_Troy crept up behind her and quickly dug his fingers into her waist.She yelped and slapped him playfully. "Troy!" She laughed and chased him before finally tripping over her own feet and landing in a heap on the grass. He mimicked her fall and lay down beside her, watching the clouds._

"_Do you think anyone else is sitting watching these same clouds?" She asked, turning her head to look at him. He glanced over at her with a worried look on his face. "I'm serious!"_

_"I'll tell you what you are." He stood up and held out a hand to lift her onto her feet. "You're random." He smiled, pulling her up close to him, and lightly tapping her nose._

_"Way to ruin the moment, Bolton." She giggled, lacing her fingers with his. "Are we gonna be OK?" She looked back up at him, and he saw some sort of weary sadness._

_"Course we are." He squeezed her hands. "I mean, sometimes my mom does cook lovely meals. I'm sure you won't get sick-"_

"_Shut up! I mean 'we', 'us' ... In high school ..." She trailed off and looked down again. "My sister said that everyone changes, and your friends drift off into groups they wish they'd been in their entire lives."_

_"Well, I promise you now, Gabi, you're not getting rid of me."_

_"No?"_

"_Nope" He grinned. "Never."_


	4. Causa Perdida

Chapter 3 - Causa Perdida (Lost Cause)

Mrs Bolton bent down slightly and planted a kiss on Gabriella's cheek. "It was great seeing you again. Y'know, Jack and I were saying the other day how we never see you around the house anymore. Is everything OK?" She stepped back and Gabriella saw Troy standing at the top of the stairs behind her. She swallowed every gut feeling she wanted to scream at his mom and smiled.

"Yeah. Just homework and stuff, barely any time, I'm sure you remember!" She giggled and avoided Troy's gaze.

"Oh, believe me, I know. It seems like Troy's hardly left his room this year! They give you kids far too much work to do!" Troy stood up and took his place next to his mom.

"Mom, I'm sure Gabi has better things to do than stand in a doorway and talk to you." He grumbled, not once looking up from his feet. Mrs Bolton gasped in mock-shock and laughed. Gabriella bit her lip and smiled, honestly she wasn't looking forward to a weekend alone. And once Sharpay found out about her being home alone, she knew it would be one non-stop underage drinking session.

"OK, I can take a hint. I'll leave you two alone!" She laughed and walked away, leaving Gabriella and Troy wide mouthed in protest. They stood in silence for a moment, and Troy's face softened slightly and he opened his mouth to talk, with a smirk on his face.

"Not if you were the last guy on earth." She smiled and left him gawping at the door. Sure, he'd been nice and polite during the meal, but he could hardly be the player in front of his parents, she knew that much. She wasn't naive enough to believe one meal would change anything. He was still an ass, he still thought she was a bitch. No amount of reminiscing could erase the last 2 years. She scraped her hair back and changed into a plain tracksuit, firing up her laptop. She glanced over towards her window and remembered the countless nights the pair would spend just grinning out of eachother's opposing windows, doing stupid dances or faces. Growing up sucked, she decided, wrapping herself in her duvet and signing onto msn.

**CutiePi:** SO?????? How'd it go???

**FreakyMathGrl:** It was ... ok, actually ...

**CutiePi:** R U serious???? HE'S TROY BOLTON ... HE'S NEVER OK!!

**FreakyMathGrl: **ino ino ... but he wasn't being such an ass

**CutiePi: **whatevs, he's still EH's biggest manho lol

**FreakyMathGrl:** well duh!

**CutiePi: **Brie...

**FreakyMathGrl: **...

**CutiePi:** Don't get mad...k?

**FreakyMathGrl: **o...k

**CutiePi: **Do you still like him? ...

**CutiePi: **Brie?

**CutiePi: **Even just a tiny part of you??

**FreakyMathGrl: **Huh? No! He's a lost cause, Tay, any chance of me and Troy was shattered a long time ago.

**CutiePi**: OK honey, but y'know if you did, you know you could tell me right?

**FreakyMathGrl**: Yeah, course, sorry I gotta go, I really need sleep before algebra tomorrow, otherwise I'm totally failing!

**CutiePi**: Shut up, Brie! But yeah, I guess I better go too! ly xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**FreakyMathGrl** may not reply as he/she is offline. Messages sent will be delivered when they next sing in.


	5. Pensaba Que

**Thanks to everyone who has added this story or me to their alerts, or reviewed! I'm going to try to update daily, and as I'm on study leave (yes, I'm using it wisely) until the end of the week I should get quite a lot of chapters done. After study leave, however, I can't promise daily updates, but at least every two days! Thanks again!**

Chapter 4 - Pensaba que ... (I thought ...)

Gabriella closed her laptop and bit her lip. Talk about opening a can of worms. Taylor had a way of making people think until their head hurt, and that's exactly what was going on in Gabriella's head. She looked around and saw the one last picture including Troy that she didn't have the heart to take down. They were at the lake, her in a one piece swimsuit, and he was in just his trunk. Their hair was soaking wet and Troy had his fingers in a V behind her head. She. however, was grinning happily, completely oblivious that he was pulling a stupid face and making her look silly. She hazarded a glance out of her window and saw his light was still on. She couldn't see him, but she knew he had a picture from the same day on his bedside table.

At that moment he stepped in front of the window, his hair dripping wet and just in a towel around his waist. She quickly looked up and the stars, as if that's what she'd been doing all along. A few moments later she tried to subtly look back, only to find him laughing at his window, still only half-clothed. She blushed involuntarily and yanked her curtains closed. She knew he wasn't a bad person really, well, she knew that now. He still acted like one, and that's what made it so hard to forgive.

_Sharpay Evans was ruthless. She always got what she wanted, and most of East High's girls could vouch for that. Many a broken heart had been down to Sharpay. Yet Gabriella laughed off the suggestion that she'd ever get anywhere near her goal with Troy. "I trust him, that's all that matters." She'd declare everytime one of Sharpay's minions would pester her. She'd never once said she loved him to people other than him, but it was common knowledge that she did. And he did._

_Summer was the time of year when kids looked forward to getting away from the stress of school. The fact was that they were only escaping the academic stress, Sharpay always had a way of finding out EVERYTHING about EVERYONE'S summer, if it killed her. So the Summer Troy and Gabriella had their first proper argument was perfect ammunition for her to make her move on the giant chess board of East High and be crowned Queen._

_"Troy.." She whined, pouting and flipping her hair. "I'm so **so** sorry about you and Gabi ... " She looked up at him through teary eyes, and he tried to shrug her off his arm. "You know, if you want to talk, I'm here for you." She gave him a sympathetic smile and he nodded politely._

_"Thanks, Sharpay, but no thanks. We're not broken up, we just had a silly fight. I'll be fine by tonight." He assured her, removing his arm from her grasp. She looked at the ground and back up again, and a single tear threatened to fall._

_"Well ... gosh, Troy, I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but ... Gabriella's told everyone you guys have split up. And that she never wants to see you again." She could feel the triumph flowing through her veins, and knew he would give in at that. He looked away and looked back at the blonde._

_"She said that?" Sharpay nodded a little too enthusiastically. "She said those exact words to you?" She nodded again, toned down a bit. He ran his hands through his hair and she automatically fiddled with it to stop the irritating sticky-up bits he'd just created. He took hold of her wrists and pulled her hands down. "Well, then, I guess we are broken up." He muttered, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She turned her head at the last moment and caught his lips. She deepened the kiss and felt his hands on the back of her head, burying into her hair. Her hands were caught between their chests, and she practically felt the hurt in him. She knew he wasn't doing this becaue he liked her. He was doing this because he knew Gabriella was standing at her sitting room window watching every move he made, and because he believed she hated him. Now he wanted to hate her._

_"Mm ... Troy." She mumbled. He pulled away and his expression was full of guilt, and regret. She nodded her head towards Gabriella's house and he looked over to see her standing at the window. He stepped back from Sharpay, as if to make it look like she'd imagined however much she'd seen. She shook her head and walked away, not before giving him a look that said it all._

_"I need to talk to her." He touched Sharpay's arm lightly and never once removed his eyes from the window._

_"No!" She exclaimed. "She hates you, Troy. Let me talk to her. We're both girls, we have an understanding." She said softly, and Troy looked horrified._

_"She just saw that! She's not going to listen to you any more than me!" He felt himself raising his voice in frustration and took a deep breath. The last thing that would help was getting angry._

_"I know, I know." She took his anger to mean that he was upset, and pulled him into a hug. He stood still in her arms, not entirely sure what the hell to do. He slowly patted her back and wriggled free. "I'll be back before you know it." She smiled and walked over to Gabriella's house. He noted the fact she didn't even knock. Troy had been her best friend for 12 years and he wouldn't dream of just wandering into her home._

_Sharpay stepped inside and looked around, on alert for objects being thrown. "Gabi?" She called softly, and stopped suddenly at the kitchen door as the brunette stepped in front of her, tears streaming down her face, but her expression hard and cold._

_"Gabriella." She croaked. "What do you want?" She asked simply, and turned away from her. She sat down at the table and Sharpay invited herself to join her._

_"I just wanted to let you know, that what you saw, wasn't me. Troy told me what happened, I was going to hug him, but he kissed me." Sharpay turned on the waterworks again, and the tear returned, always teetering on her eyelashes, but never actually falling. "Gabriella," She rested her hand on Gabriella's and she finally looked up. "I'm so sorry. You know, there are plenty more boys at East High. He's not worth it."_

_"He seemed pretty worth it to you. Or does every guy who randomly makes out with you in a driveway get the same treatment?" She scowled. Sharpay could never begin to understand why it hurt so much. "We were in love!", she wanted to scream at her. She wanted to yank out her fake blonde hair and scratch her face so there'd always be a mark of the time she went too far. "Everyone knows you love the chase." She muttered, not entirely sure if she wanted Sharpay to hear that._

_"Gabriella." She said softly and hushed her. "I know you're upset. But look at this way, you guys had split up."_

_"What?! We had a stupid argument over nothing! We weren't broken up!" She stood up and looked down at the blonde fiercely. "I thought he loved me ..." She added softly. She was ready to really lay into her, more than anything she wanted to take her neck in her hands and ... _

_"Sweetie, I'm sorry. He told me he never wanted to speak to you again. He said he broke up with you ... to be with me." She looked up at Gabriella apologetically, and finally the tear fell. "Maybe it's for the best. And I'm sorry he kissed me. If you'd stayed you'd have seen that I pulled away a second after you left."_

"_Whatever," Gabriella walked out of the room again and Sharpay got up to follow her. "Don't. Please, Sharpay, just go. I'm sure Troy's waiting for you outside." She walked up the stairs and Sharpay heard a door slam. She smirked smugly, finally, Troy Bolton was hers._


	6. Las letras de mí corazón

Chapter 5 - **Las letras de mí corazón (**The lyrics of my heart)

Troy quickly towel dried his hair and glanced at her window again. Her curtains had been closed for over an hour, but her lights was still on. And he knew she couldn't sleep with the light on. He sighed and settled his laptop on his knees. Signed in, he automatically checked for her address. She was still showing as offline, but he guessed she probably was, he was still on the block list.

**AfroMan**: Duuuuuuude!

**AfroMan:** How was the bitch?

**MasterT**: Hey man

**MasterT**: Surprisingly ... not that bad

**AfroMan:** Oh shit, here we go again. Dude you really need to get over her once and for all.

**MasterT**: I am over her. Well and truly.

**MasterT:** She's just not the cold bitch we think

**AfroMan:** Whatever, man, I still say you're whipped.

**MasterT:** I am not

**AfroMan:** Ok... I say we get everyone together, throw ourselves a rager next weekend.

**MasterT:** Even better, how bout tomorrow night?

**AfroMan:** dude its a saturday, how many people will turn up at short notice on a saturday?

**MasterT:** Who cares? As longs theres enough booze to make me forget the name Gabriella Montez, I'm there.

**AfroMan:** aye aye captain!

**MasterT:** Listen man I gotta go, see ya tomorrow, we can sort out supplies.

**MasterT** has changed his/her status to offline, messages sent will be delivered when they next sign in.

Gabriella sat on her bed, flicking through the photo album she'd promised herself she would burn a long time ago. The one filled with almost every picture she'd ever taken with Troy. There was the vacation their families had gone on when they were 6 years old, filled with sloppy kisses and hugs. There was the class camping trip they'd gone on when they were 10, filled with their awkward looking smiles and gooey eyes. There was the weekend in Disneyland when they were 12, the Spring before the fallout, filled with genuine love and cuddles.

She smiled as she saw a photo of her pushing an ice cream cone into Troy's face, and her having a huge dollop of vanilla on her nose. She even managed to smile at one of them sitting on opposite ends of a bench, Gabriella with her arms folded and her legs crossed looking huffy, and Troy with his head on his hand, his elbow on the armrest, looking at her out of the corner of his eye sulkily. She couldn't even remember what was wrong, but it was such an innocent-looking fight she had to smile.

The camping trip brought photos she'd forgotten existed. Ones of her and Taylor pitching a tent, with Troy in the background looking at her, his eyes filled with admiration. At the time, it had seemed like plain laziness, leaving the girls to do the manual work, but now she had to see the sweet side of him.

She slammed the book shut and slid it under her bed again, promising never to open it again. She turned on her iPod docking station and skipped her way through the Troylist her and Taylor had made _that _Summer.

_So many crazy memories of you and me  
Like the time we drove to the OC  
Got so lost we thought we would never get home  
You know the night when i gave my heart to you  
And you swore that you felt the same too  
You said that you would never ever leave me alone _

Out of nowhere you were gone  
Into someone else's arms  
Should have known that she was more  
Than just a friend, all the things i never knew  
But i always trusted you  
Never thought that she would wind up in the end  
Your new girlfriend (your new girlfriend)

I believe what goes around comes around  
So stay out of the deep end or you'll both drown  
Even shallow water is over her head  
You broke my heart but hey baby life goes on  
Everything is down for a reason  
Now i can see for me there's something better ahead

Out of nowhere you were gone  
Into someone else's arms  
Should have known that she was more  
Than just a friend, all the things i never knew  
But i always trusted you  
Never thought that she would wind up in the end  
Your new girlfriend

I don't know what i was thinking to let us  
Get this far, cuz now that i see who you really are  
You can have a new girlfriend

Out of nowhere you were gone  
Into someone else's arms  
Should have known that she was more  
Than just a friend, to think inside i think i knew  
But i always trusted you  
Never thought that she would wind up in the end... 

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, Chad, Hayden Panettiere, 'Your New Girlfriend' or any other copyright protected characters, songs etc in this story ... thank you, and goodnight. ;)**


	7. Cuando éramos más joven

Chapter 6 - **Cuando éramos más joven (When We Were Young)**

"Hey." Gabriella looked up to see Troy standing over her. She frowned at him and shrugged. "Did you enjoy dinner?" He sat down next to her.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Troy. But I'm trying to get this project finished by fifth period. Is there any real reason why you're here?" She slammed her pen down and the entire library scowled at her. She mouthed an apology and folded her arms.

"I'm trying to make an effort, Gabi." He leaned across the table and for one horrific moment she thought he was going to kiss her. "My parents knew something was up last night. The last thing I need is them on my case about being an ass. I've got you for that." He smiled jokingly, and she returned a half-hearted one.

"So it's all about keeping yourself in the clear, huh? Just like when we were young." She smirked and picked up her pen to start writing again, frustrated that she'd lost her train of thought completely.

"Gabi..." He began, and she huffed and scooped her belongings up and stood up. He grabbed her wrist and stood up next to her. "Hear me out."

"Let go of me." She whispered, trying not to make a scene, even though most of the juniors were gawping already.

"Not until you sit down and listen." She looked up into his eyes and immediately wished she hadn't. They were so blue, she used to say they had some sort of powers. Over her, at least. She pulled her wrist free and sat back down. "Thank you. Where do you want me to start?"

"I want you to start by leaving me alone." She retorted, quicker than she even thought it. He laughed sadly and looked away from her.

"OK, we'll start in 2006. Summer. I-"

"-No."

"No?"

She paused for a moment, then looked at him in disbelief. "No. Troy, why in the world would I want you start there? I've spent the last two years blacking it out, I'm not going back there." She clenched her teeth, and he nodded in understanding.

"I know, I know," He ran his hand through his hair, just so he couldn't reach out and take hers. "Well, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"-I get it." She cut him off again, and looked into his eyes. He saw the hurt and a part of him was desperate to prove that he wished he couldn't blame himself for it.

"OK. Gabi, please, I hate this."

"You've had two years to say all this. Why now?" She didn't break her stare, and she wasn't going to.

"Because I haven't thought about it the past 2 years. I've surrounded myself with people who didn't know, people who knew me as a jerk. People who couldn't tell me to stop acting up." He muttered, dying to look away from the sadness he was causing her. "Girls who knew I wasn't soft. Who knew not to expect a call in the morning." She finally broke away from his eyes and sighed in disgust.

"That makes me feel so much better, Bolton. Gee, I might just take you back now!" She shook her head in disgust. "Sharpay told me what you said."

"Sharpay told me a lot of things too." It was his turn to twist the knife. "Like how you used me."

"What?!" She screeched, and the librarian gave her a furious look. "You've got a nerve to even suggest that! I said, I said this would happen! How many times did we sit and talk about how we'd all change, about how we'd meet people and realise what our old friends were lacking?" She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes.

"I know you did. But hey, dating Troy Bolton got you a place on the cheer squad!" He laughed sarcastically.

"Dating Troy Bolton got me nowhere." She stood up again and he didn't even bother copying her. "All it got me was this crappy outlook on life." She leant down and muttered in his ear on her way out. He sat, not knowing what to think of her words, he couldn't even think of a remotely good comeback to it. Because dating Gabriella Montez had got him in every sticky situation he'd been in in the past two years. And he knew he deserved it.

"Troy? What the heck are you doing in the library?" He heard Sharpay come round the corner and she sat down next to him.

"I was ... reading." He mumbled, picking up the first book he saw on the table_. The Dictionary. Great_. "Um, are you coming to Chad's party tonight?"

"OF course!" She waved her hands and giggled. "Listen, we took a vote, and we all agreed you look the oldest. So you're in charge of alcohol, sorry." She patted his shoulder and walked away. How could she be so normal with him? He'd been a bigger ass to her than Gabi! Well, not quite, but Sharpay was known for her lethal grudges. Now he had to figure out a way of getting enough alcohol for his own long bath in his sorrows, and around 40 other students who were used to not sleeping at the weekend and coming into school on Monday still a little drunk.

He stood up and made his way to the gym. His parents always kept a lot of strong drinks in the cabinet. But they would notice it was gone by supper when they went to pour some wine. He realised he also had to be at dinner with his parents and Gabi, which gave him literally no time to go to the store. He looked at the clock, it was 2pm ... he had Drama next, Ms Darbus probably wouldn't notice he was gone if he got Chad to tell her he was helping out in props, an area she rarely ventured into.

"Dude, tell Darbus I'm helping props, thanks buddy." He slapped his friend on the shoulder and hurried away.

"Wait! Where will you actually be?"

"Sorting out your party." He called behind him and burst through the double doors. He felt one spring back faster and heard a crack on the other side, _Shit._ "Hey, sorry, are you-"

He saw Gabi standing behind the door rubbing her head, tears streaming down her face. "Like you give a fuck." She mumbled and stamped a foot in pain.

"Woah, Gabi, calm down." He put a hand out to touch her shoulder.

"I've told you before Bolton, don't touch me." She sniffed and turned her head away from him. "Just go!" She yelled, making him flinch.

"Whatever. I really don't need your dramatics right now." He shrugged and turned away from her. She slid down the wall and sobbed silently. He knew nothing. Her father was ill. He couldn't fly home for Monday, and her mom had decided to fly to him on Tuesday. Leaving her alone for god knows how long, since neither of them considered her responsible enough to fly herself. It also meant spending even more time at the Boltons. Her mom was transferring more money into her account, luckily she'd managed to cover for the fact she hadn't touched what she'd already given her. She was having a bad day.

Troy pulled up outside the store and panicked. He had no idea what he was doing. Everyone in town knew he was Jack Bolton's son, he was captain of the basketball team at East High. Everyone therefore knew he was no way 21. He sighed and started up the truck again, planning to tell everyone else he didn't get sold anything. Sure, they'd be pissed, but if anyone who knew his dad saw him, he wouldn't see the semi-finals.

His phone started ringing and he pulled it out, still sitting outside the store. "Gabi?"

"Hey." She sounded hoarse. "Um ... my mom left a lot of alcohol in the house. I guess I could tell her I cleaned up and threw it out."

"Why would you do that? Are you planning a binge?" He knew she was offering to help, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"Because I know you're so damned famous round here nobody is going to even think about selling you any." He heard the spite in her voice, of course anything nice had a sting in its tail.

"Thank you, Gabi." He taunted and hung up, making sure to call Chad. It rang. And rang. And ra-

"Mr Bolton. Office. Now!" A woman yelled, and he cursed violently. How could he be so stupid?! A party would take his mind off everything.

School.

Ms Darbus.

His Dad.

Money.

And Gabriella.


	8. ¿Por Qué Lloras?

Heyy ... OK, I'm so so so so so so so so so unbelievably sorry! School, love life, work etc have been CRAZY ... i couldn't BEGIN to explain! So here it is, a little longer than my usual updates, and I've just realised how it doesn't fit with the title at all. Hmm ...

Chapter 7 - **¿Por qué lloras?**

Gabriella swung open the door to the cupboard under the sink and grabbed all the bottles which had been opened already. There was only one which hadn't had a sip taken out of it, and she figured she could bluff her mom into believing she was innocent enough to think the open ones had gone out of date or something. She thought back to her phone call with Troy and regretted offering her supplies for a moment. No, she was tired of fighting, if giving in to his every need meant a quiet life, so be it.

"Gabi?" Speak of the devil, she thought, as she heard his voice call through her house. She looked down and saw that she had changed into her pyjamas. It was just something she did before getting ready for a party. It made her feel that little bit prettier when she was finally ready.

"Um. I'm in the kitchen." She decided she was just going to have to deal with the fact that Troy Bolton was about to see her in her PJs. Eurgh.

"Gabi ... I don't know if you're tired, deluded or just plain stupid." He sat down at the table and helped himself to one of the chocolates in the bowl.

"Thanks?" She sat down and sat the remaining bottles next to her collection.

"You've just saved my ass. I know it doesn't count for much between you and me ... but you're coming to this party." Gabi frowned at him.

"I know. But, er, thanks for the invite." She laughed and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"I just figured, with the pyjamas ..." He trailed off and saw she was still smiling, and smiled back at her. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, both knowing what would come of it.

"I think I want to talk to you." Gabriella stammered, blushing when she saw his eyes widen in shock.

"To what do I owe such a privelige?" She looked up, about to tell him where to go for his cheek, and she saw he was smiling at her. "Kidding."

"I don't feel like kidding." She stated simply. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me." She could feel the tears choking her throat, but refused to let them fall.

"Woah. Gabi, I didn't hate you. In the last two years no matter how much grief you gave me I never once said those words. Sure, I bitched, but nothing came close to hate."

"But, Sharpay-"

"-Sharpay!" He raised his voice and she sunk into her chair. "Gabi, Sharpay told me exactly what you said! Don't sit there and play innocent with me, don't dare try to turn this around on me!"

"I'm not!" She screamed. "That summer, Sharpay came to me after you made out with her, and she told me you said you hated me, that you never wanted to speak to me again, that you wanted to be with her!"

"I never **wanted** to be with her! I was with her because for the first time in my life I was alone. We were all moving up to a new school, new people, and I didn't even have one foot on the ladder. You took that right out from under me!"

"I did! Troy-"

"You broke up with me!" They both yelled at the same time. "What! Stop it!" They groaned in anger and turned away from eachother.

"What did Sharpay tell you last year, when I broke up with her?" He said, trying to calm his breathing.

"She told us she broke up with you, because you were obsessed with me." She muttered the last part, yet he still heard. "And that you cheated on her, that's the only reason we made friends with her. Because we believed you treated her like shit, and no girl deserves that."

"She made her way round half the basketball team before I found out. And then I broke up with her, not because of you, but for me. For my sanity." She giggled and mumbled and apology. It just sounded so melodramatic. "And I tried, Gabi, believe me I tried to make things right with us, as friends, but you had completely shut me out."

"So you thought you'd stoop to Sharpay's level and make your own laps round the cheer squad?" She tried to control two years' worth of hurt in her voice, but found her throat a little shaky.

"How many of those girls do you think I slept with? Truthfully." He leant back and folded his arms in such a relaxed manner she felt uncomfortable being so uptight.

"All of them?"

"Nope."

"Well, how many were there?"

"No idea, but I know exactly how many girls I slept with this year."

"You actually lost count? You slut!" She forced a laugh and thought. "5? 6? 7?"

"You were closer with 5."

"4? 3? 2? YOU ONLY SLEPT WITH ONE! I refuse to believe that, Troy."

"Zero." She sat in silence, taking it in. He hadn't slept with anyone?

"Get real. Troy, the entire squad have been gossiping to me all year about how good you are."

"Ah, but good at what? Did they ever come straight out and say what I'm supposedly good at?" He raised an eyebrow at her bemused expression, knowing she was looking for some sort of criticism.

"No. So you haven't ..."

"Nope. I mean, apparently I'm good at everything else, the presents, the sweet nothings you chicks are so fond of, the non-intercourse-ey stuff ... but actual sex? Meh, it can wait." He shrugged, and it suddenly hut him that not so long ago she was begging him to leave her alone, and he'd just burdened on her.

"There's the Troy I know. The one who'd tell me anything." She smiled at him, he noticed she hadn't changed a bit.

"Yeah, but thing is, we've grown up. I'm not telling you I ate the last cookie anymore," She laughed and nodded slowly. "This is ... real. I just- I just think that if we hadn't lost the last 2 years, I'd still be the same Troy. I'd still be telling you secrets that were a heck of a lot more innocent and naive." He looked away from her, cringing at the amount of crap he'd just said.

"Troy, it wouldn't have made any difference. We were going to high school. We were going to grow up. It's just easier to blame it on something than face facts." He looked up at her. So much for not having changed a bit. She was talking like a grown woman.

"I guess." He sighed, how hard could it be to just ask her to be his friend again? Without sounding like a child? Extremely hard. "Are you going to get ready? Party's in an hour, and you need dinner at mine."

"Crap!" He raised an eyebrow at her again.

"Sorry, is it really that awful?"

"No, no, I just totally forgot, and now I have very little time to get ready. I'll meet you there?" She stood up to go and get changed and he stood infront of her.

"Come round once you're ready, I'll tell my mom you'll be twenty minutes tops. I'll drive you there."

"Troy ..."

"No buts."

"No, but, how are we going to get home if you're driving?" She smiled at him, suddenly aware of how close they were standing. Twenty-four hours ago she would have had him in a headlock for standing that close. He sighed and nodded slowly, remembering his initial plan for this party. He silently decided that his aim was still to get more drunk than he'd ever been in his life. He'd earned that at least.

"True. OK, we'll walk." He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at her.

She took a deep breath and nodded along with him, trying to keep her composure. They'd only been friends ten minutes, she couldn't possibly show any feelings this early. He lightly squeezed her arm, planning to take her hand but deciding against it, she'd probably slap him. She smiled at him in understanding. They'd finally reached a compromise.

"I'm gonna get ready, I'll be half an hour, tops." He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. There was no way she'd be ready in half an hour. He pulled back his sleeve and checked the time, the party had started fifteen minutes ago, and he'd promised Chad he'd go and set up early. And he suddenly realised Chad had a house full of teenagers and not a drop of alcohol.

"I'll go get changed, I'll tell my mom we've eaten here." He knew she'd protest about drinking on an empty stomach, but he wasn't interested. "I'll just come straight back after I'm done." They exchanged another smile and he left.

She opened her wardrobe and decided tonight was going to be a night to remember. For good reasons. She wasn't _planning_ on hooking up with Troy, far from it, she just wanted to look her best. She settled on a short gold jumper dress and black tights, with her kitten heels, and a black belt. She tried it on and saw how low-cut it was, she wasn't prepared to go there yet. She changed again and put a black strappy top underneath, showing a lace trim under the dress. She took a deep breath and scooped her bag and keys off the table, picking up the carrier bags of bottles from the floor.

She got to the door and set the bags down again, fumbling with her phone. Just as she hitcall nextto his name, Troy burst through the door, dripping wet, and she heard a clap of thunder erupt in the distance. "You're gonna need some more clothes, missy."


End file.
